Medical facilities employ a wide variety of medical items, including medical supply items, pharmaceuticals, and the like. These items are used in a variety of locations, such as operating rooms, patient recovery rooms, labor and delivery rooms, and storage areas, such as secure vaults, dispensing cabinets and the like. Healthcare facilities have a need to track and account for items in an efficient manner. In some cases, for example in the case of supplies such as bandages, tape, and the like, the tracking may be performed primarily for inventory and billing purposes. However, for many medical items such as pharmaceuticals, and especially for legally controlled substances, it is important to carefully track the movement and disposition of the items throughout the facility.
The accurate and timely tracking of controlled substances depends on the accurate input of information by facility personnel indicating when items are moved throughout the system. There is a need to facilitate the efficient entry of accurate tracking information by health care workers.